Meet Kheris Rogers.
When the 10-year-old girl was in elementary school, she was constantly bullied for her deeply hued skin color. The experience had a negative impact on the 5th grade student’s self-esteem so she changed schools, but the teasing didn’t stop.
Photo credit: www.twitter.com
Kheris says: “I’ve been bullied a lot, like in the first grade, I went to school with just four other black kids. And kids used to bully me because they weren’t used to my skin tone. There was an incident with a teacher and we had to draw ourselves and she gave us a black crayon instead of a brown crayon, and I was really upset.”
Photo credit: www.srmagonline.com
Back in March, Kheris’ older sister, Taylor Pollard wanted to boost her confidence, so she posted two beautiful photos of the young girl on Twitter. “My sister is only 10, but already royalty,” the 22-year-old captioned them, adding a #FlexinInHerComplexion hashtag.
My sister is only 10, but already royalty 👸🏾 #FlexinInHerComplexion pic.twitter.com/pfKeHyNXCx
— Boss Babe✨ (@TaylorAndrea_) March 26, 2017
Her tweet went viral, and it now has more than 31,000 retweets and over 83,000 likes. The gorgeous photos not only garnered lots of positive and heartwarming comments online, but also encouraged Kheris to create her own clothing line to empower others who face colorism.
Photo credit: www.bckonline.com
The Flexin’ In My Complexion line launched in April and it currently features T-shirts in four different shades. Kheris and Taylor are also planning to release fitted T-shirts and crop tops, just in time for summer.
Photo credit: www.ca.style.yahoo.com
The Los Angeles-based student says: “I feel confident in it myself because, even if I still get picked on because I’m darker, when I put on the T-shirt, it makes me feel bold.” Taylor adds: “I just hope that especially for younger kids, people start to feel more confident in their skin. It doesn’t matter how dark or light you are, just knowing that it’s beautiful and that your complexion doesn’t determine your beauty.”